Lafourche Basin Levee District millage roll‑forward rejected after Saint Charles Parish opposition

Parish President Jewell said the Lafourche Basin Levee District voted unanimously against a proposal to roll its millage forward to the maximum, a move she said would have raised taxes in Saint Charles Parish by about 0.15 mills and generated roughly $215,000 across the district.

Jewell told the council she and Mr. Sam Scholey attended the district meeting to oppose the roll‑forward and that members from Saint Charles Parish and the other parishes in the district unanimously denied the measure. "This would have raised taxes in Saint Charles Parish by, I think, 0.15 mills," she said. "While the $215,000 total isn't a very large sum of money, the principle that we've been working very hard to lower taxes, and keep taxes low ... matters."

Jewell also said Saint Charles Parish pays the bulk of the district collections: "We pay about 70% of the total collections to Lafourche Basin [Levee] District out of the ... parishes that are involved in it," she said, noting the disproportionate burden on West Bank residents.

The measure would have applied across Saint Charles Parish and about five other parishes inside the Lafourche Basin Levee District's jurisdiction. Jewell framed the denial as consistent with the parish's broader aim to limit tax increases amid economic uncertainty.

No ordinance text or statute citation was presented in the council meeting transcript; the district's action was reported as a denial of the roll‑forward proposal rather than a parish vote or ordinance adoption.

Members of the public or parish council did not move or second a formal motion on the district action during the remarks; the transcript records Jewell's report about the district's decision and subsequent comments of thanks from other council members.